While 24 million Americans are struggling with substance abuse problems, lots of other people Suffer different addictions. People can become addicted to just about any pattern of behavior, but some are more common than others. There are literally thousands of Weird Addictions that people can engage with.

If you’re wondering what some of the more common strange addictions are, look for the 7 in a friend or family member you worry might be compulsive.

1. Pulling Out Hair

A surprising addiction that people with anxiety suffer is called trichotillomania. It entails pulling out individual hairs one strand at a time when the sufferer feels nervous.

This can sometimes escalate to eating or chewing on the hair.

While this isn’t so much of an addiction as a compulsion, people who suffer from it have a hard time stopping. Because it’s often connected to anxiety, moments of frustration or exhaustion exacerbate the problem. Many people who suffer it work in high stress or high performing jobs like nurses, people in finance, and doctors.

2. Eating Paper

One strange addiction that some people have is eating paper. While no one would take a bite out of the New York Times, some people don’t even realize they bite, suck, or chew on little slips of paper. This can range from compulsively tearing little bits of paper off and putting them in your mouth to holding a business card in your mouth as it disintegrates.

This isn’t a very serious addiction as it doesn’t cause severe illness or discomfort, but can upset your digestive tract. Eating paper can be overcome by replacing the behavior with another healthier one. The few people who suffer from it often find it’s helpful to seek therapy to stop.

3. Exercising

Working out too much isn’t necessarily a bad addiction to have. So long as you stay hydrated and eat right, it just means you’ll be a little more buff than you intended.

However, it can be an obsession for some people. There’s a thin line between the bodybuilder who loves to compete and the one who does it until all hours of the night trying to achieve a magic number.

As long as you don’t have an obsession with calories or daily intake, you’re probably fine. If you aren’t spending 3 or more hours a day at the gym or out for runs, you don’t have anything to worry about.

When you’re working out, make sure that you’re always eating well and drinking plenty of water.

4. Online Gambling

Gambling has been a well-documented addiction for decades. It can lead to domestic disturbances, families being torn apart, and individual financial ruin. So long as people stayed away from the casino, it wasn’t a problem.

However, now that gambling can be done online from the convenience of your bed or couch, things are different. With it so easy to connect your credit card to the action, people quickly end up in financial trouble. Instead of having to go up to a window to get more chips to bet with, the ease of online gambling is dangerous.

Online gambling has the potential to be even more addictive than casino gambling.

5. Romantic Obsession

While falling in love is a wonderful feeling, some people become obsessed with the feeling of unrequited love. The drama and fantasy of it become the core of how some people function. While it can be romantic for a moment, it can be indicative of an addiction.

When a relationship seems plagued by weekly “breakups” or a friend seems to fall in love every other day, they may have this addiction. It’s more or less a mental disorder that keeps people from being happy.

It can be connected to trauma or loss and for some people, it’s the only way they know how to have romantic relationships.

6. Going Tanning

A few years ago, a woman on the internet went viral and became known as “tan mom“? This white woman from New Jersey spent so many hours in the tanning booth that her skin became a deep and rich tone of brown.

While the bar for an addiction is much lower, she became emblematic of a certain type of obsession. If you or someone you know goes tanning more than twice a week, they might have an addiction. For some people, they even suffer withdrawal if they don’t end up back in the bed.

The unfortunate side effect is all that tanning can cause cancer. Your skin will age faster and may never be able to recover from the aging that you endure under the tanning bed or even from the sun.

7. Video Games

If you’ve ever met a gamer and seen how serious they can be, you might not be surprised to find out that video game addiction is real. Some people form such powerful association with games that they’ll forsake all the other aspects of their life for the game. Compulsive playing, especially of online RPGs, can get in the way of your life.

While some people might think marijuana is the number one addiction young people can suffer, read more here and you might find you believe otherwise.

Video games can cause withdrawal systems, hallucinations, and paranoia. People become alienated from their personal relationships, friendships, and even family. While the most susceptible tend to be young men under 30, people of all ages, races, and genders have experienced this addiction.

Weird Addictions Can Happen To Anyone

People can become addicted to a specific candy, drinking Windex, or going to the post office. The only criteria for defining an addiction is whether it interferes with daily life and its an obtrusive pattern of behavior. Other than that, any kind of behavior could take the place for actually dealing with a difficult subject.

If you’re wondering whether or not you’ve veered into weird addictions, pay attention if you’ve spent too much time on one of these weird websites.